Recently we experienced a stretch of play time with only four children at the school...two boys and two girls. After only a short time, two separate construction sites emerged through the play...both using the same big benches that we normally use at the kitchen tables.

The boys built "an airport."

The girls used theirs as a method of entry to a castle.

So we may be "just playing", but...

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

Thank you for remembering that young children do not “just play.” Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play. A child’s work is play. Play is important!

Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment. I’d also like to invite you to “hop” on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week:

Reader Comments (2)

I love the different things the boys and the girls came up with. It took some big muscles to move the table and then climbing up was also using gross motor skills. Plus there's so much imagination going on here! (By the way, I love the toy castle - I bet that's popular with the kids!)

Thank you Emma! Yes, those were seriously big preschool muscles being used. Before I could pull out the camera, those girls had already taken several breaks while carrying the big bench across the space (with one break including a seat to rest on the bench itself)!